Principal's Update- Friday, February 27, 2015

It's already the end of February!  It seems like yesterday that we were finding milk cartons, prizes, and getting everything in order for our "Escape with a Good Book" month!

STEM Brochure
Thanks to Dr. M, we now have a McKinley STEM brochure!  This STEM brochure will help show the community, as well as visitors to our building, what we do.  Click here to see a copy of the final brochure (if you see any mistakes, please let me know ASAP!). 

Rita Reding Scholarship
An email came out from Sarah Hoffmann about the Rita Reading Scholarship.  This scholarship is for any teacher who is interested in some professional development in the area of reading.  Please consider applying for this scholarship- by yourself or as a team.  This is a great opportunity to see "what else is out there" in the area of reading.  If you need me to re-send the email, let me know.

Subbing/Staff Development
We had a mix-up this week with subs and staff development (sorry Paige G and Kayla!).  I just wanted to clarify something- if we have a shortage in the district, staff development opportunities are the first to get pulled back into the classroom.  However, after our mix-up this week, we now have a process in place to communicate which groups/teachers will be pulled back and who won't.  Hopefully this illness season is over so we don't need to worry about sub shortages!

Office Referrals
If you send a student to the office, please be clear about why they are being referred.  I completely understand you are in the middle of teaching and it's hard to communicate this.  However, I'm seeing more and more students and not sure the "true picture" of why they are there (can you believe a kid wouldn't tell the truth about getting in trouble!?).  Just consider some type of note or communication- not only does it help me understand what is going on, but it helps me stay consistent with what you have already done.   A quick phone call to Lorri or I, email, instant message on Lync, have an EA/para walk them down, etc...  in the long run, it will help us all. 

Valet Parking of the Week
Our Valet Parking for next week goes to Doug Warner.  Doug is such a helpful, positive support to our students and staff.  Doug truly cares about the students he serves and will do anything to help see them succeed.  Thanks for all you do, Doug. 

A Snapshot of Learning

Thank you to the American Legion for new Patrol flags!  And, thanks for our advisors,

Sonya & Doug for this and everything else you do with patrol.  

Although participation was low, our Science Fair was a success last night.  Thank you to everyone who helped judge, set-up, etc.  Also, a special thank you to Rachael E, Lori H, and Dr. M for all you work on this!

 

 

 

- This pretty much sums up my week, how about you?  Have a nice weekend! - Justin

Stump the Teacher!

Hi,
I shared this at a few sub outs- I thought I'd share with everyone. 

This is an activity called "Stump the Teacher".  This activity is good for any age of student (you would need to modify sheet based on your grade level).   This activity teaches students:
*how to write higher-level questions
*use text to find evidence (to support your answer)
*how to defend your answer/thoughts using the text

Basically, students read a shared, common text.  For their second read, students are given the graphic organizer to complete.  You will notice the first time they complete this, they will write lower level questions (they realize that that higher-level questions aren't always answered so quickly).  They need to write a question, the page number, and the evidence to support their answer.  I usually let them work with a partner.

After, they come together and play "Stump the Teacher" against you.  The scoring sheet is on the graphic organizer.  You take turns having students ask their question- then, you answer them using the text.  You will want to play this by their engagement- if they are losing interest, give them some more points. 

If you want me to come in and play it with your class, let me know.  I'm serious.  I love playing this!

-Justin

Principal's Update- 2/20/15

Happy Friday!  Take some time today to thaw out!

Classroom Teacher Sub outs:
Sub outs this week were a success.  Thank you for allowing others to enter your classroom!  Also, thanks to Jayne for setting this up and guiding us through the process.   I'm impressed with the level of dedication and growth this staff has.  Everyone is focused on students, learning, and ways to grow as a professional.  Jayne and I will compile the de-briefing comments and send out next week.

Teacher Book Study:
Books were delivered to teachers yesterday.  I also attached a plan for us to complete the book before June.  Thank you to the teams that provided feedback on this- I used the feedback to design our study of the book.  Like I stated in the meeting, this book focuses on how we, collectively, can structure ourselves to more efficiently and effectively support students.  If you have questions or concerns about the study, please let me know ASAP.

I Love to Read Finale:
Next week, we will gather to do our finale assembly (Friday @ 2pm).  There will be lots of prizes for students and classes who participated.  One of the prizes is "pie a teacher".  We will choose one student per grade level to "pie a teacher".  This is a SECRET as of now.  Do not share with students.  We will let you know by Thursday if you are being "pied" so you can dress appropriately on Friday.  Please let me know if you are absolutely opposed to getting pied.

Special Events Next Week:
Next week, we have the McKinley Blood Drive (Monday) and Science Fair (Thursday).  If you are interested in volunteering at either event, we'd love your help.  And, the kids would love to see you!

Valet Parking of the Week:
Our valet spot goes to Lori Huisenga.  Poor Lori took a fall and has broken her ankle.  She will need all the help she can get when she returns next week.  Let's make her "walk" into school a little shorter (although, Miss 6:30am is normally parked pretty close to the building anyhow!).  Help welcome Lori back when you see her!

Snapshot of the Week:

 

Lauren and Taylor Busho received a police escort to school on Friday.  This was a prize they received at the school carnival.  We better hope this is the only police escort we have this year!

Miles Grimmius was our Principal of the Day on Friday.  Again, this was a prize from the Carnival.  As much as he may have promised all of you days off or more pay, dream on! :)

 

Last Saturday, I pulled into the parking lot to work and found Lorri Harrison's truck with a police car behind it.  You'll have to take a minute to ask Lorri why the police were here Saturday! :)

 

Anyone else seeing a theme here- McKinley and police!??!

 

 

Have a great weekend, everyone!  Enjoy the heat wave!

-Justin

 

Principal's Update- Friday, February 13, 2015

Happy Friday the 13th! 
Another great week of learning at McKinley STEM!

Here's our updates for this week, as well as looking into the future:

Kindergarten Intervention:
In the School Board news this week, it was stated that we hired a Reading Intervention Teacher.  I should clarify this... we did hire Jo Frisbie (retired kindergarten teacher) to join our Kindergarten Team.  She works for 2 hours in the morning providing interventions to kindergarten students.  This team had no intervention support and has some needs. 

If you see Jo, welcome her to the building!

Staff Meeting- Monday:
We have a staff meeting Monday.  At this meeting, we are going to stop and take some time to reflect.  I know each of you do this on a daily basis.  However, I'd like to take our reflection to a building-level by examining where we have been, where we are going, and what we need to do to get there.  All I ask is you bring an open, but critical mind to the meeting.

Sub-outs:
Classroom Teacher Sub-outs are next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  During this time, you may see staff in and out of your classrooms.  Remember, this is a time for self reflection and alignment of programming.  Teachers will be looking at four things: questioning, rigor, structure, and engagement.  Thank you for opening your door to colleagues.  And, a huge thank you to Jayne for organizing this!

K-Kamp:
Some of you have probably heard already- but I wanted to make sure everyone is aware.  Last year, Wilson piloted a K-Kamp model where incoming kindergarteners attended a "K readiness camp".  These students were identified during the May interviews.  I'm excited to say that McKinley will be offering a K-Kamp this summer.  This will take some extensive planning, but we're excited to offer this opportunity to ensure our kindergarteners are prepared and ready in September.  Woo hoo!  And, a huge thank you to the kindergarten team for agreeing to co-teach this.  I thought I'd have to bribe them with a vacation or something- nope!  They jumped on board right away!  Thank you!

Random items:

• Speakers in library- we now have 3 sets of speakers in the library for check-out.  These speakers connect to your computer and can be used when you are showing a small group something and need to hear it (right, Kathy Feltes?) :)
• Timecards due today!  Please get them in.

Valet Parking of the Week:
Our "Valet Parking" goes to Jayne for all the work she does around the building.  Whether she's collaborating with you as a classroom teacher, providing professional development, or filling in on a discipline issue, she's around and present.  Thank you for all you do for McKinley, Jayne! 

Snapshot of Learning:

Sami Nelson's first graders using a pan balance to understand what greater than, less than, and equal to mean. 

Paige Gilligan's fourth graders using multiplication, area, perimeter, and 3D models to build "vacation resorts".  Can you tell where Paige's mind is- vacation resort?

 

The finished product- how cool!  Thank you to everyone involved in the construction of our "new library".  And, thanks to all the milk drinkers out there!  Additionally, we were in the paper today.  Click here to read the article!

 

3rd Grade Lunch Book Club- what a great, relaxed place to eat and enjoy a deep conversation about text! 

 

Have a great weekend, everyone!  Happy Valentine's Day!
-Justin

A couple good finds...

I have a couple good "finds" I wanted to share...  Happy Tuesday!

Show What You Know!
"Show What You Know" is an active learning strategy where students work collaboratively, but with accountability.  The directions are pretty clearly explained (see link).  This is a great way to add a different level of engagement to any lesson! 

http://corkboardconnections.blogspot.com/2014/04/show-what-you-know.html?m=1

Number Detectives
This activity is a great warm-up for any grade level.  The process helps students understand number sense.  The below will need to be "tweeked" for primary grades (I don't think a kindergartener will know exponential notation!).  This can be done whole group, small group (differentiate what numbers you give each student based on their background) or allow students to work collaboratively (mixed ability) to show their number.

Click here to see Number Detectives

Why am I doing this job???
Sami Nelson shared a link from a Duluth Public Schools teacher reminding us about the whole child.  A lot of you could be the teacher below...

At my fall/winter/spring job I'm a hole filler. Fortunately, I'm equipped with lots of fingers and toes for plugging because sometimes I feel like the row boat is sinking and I can't bail fast enough.

My little clients have all been homeless during the current school year.

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to be a part of a team that works with and for these little people to make sure they are "at grade level" or above.

Yikes.

So, I don't even know where to begin to tell what that looks like, the easy ones are "Little client is reading below grade level."

Until you dig in and "Little client has moved 4 times this school year. Little client has been in more schools than he/she is years old. Little client's dad beats the hell out of mom and little client sees/hears/is victim to it all. Little client sleeps on the floor. Little client's meals are all at school. Little client believes the county 'takes kids away' and school is where that happens. Little client's parent is in jail. Little client is responsible for waking up and getting him/herself and younger siblings up and off to the school bus. Little client hasn't slept."

Sometimes my little clients are not ready to learn.

Their classroom teachers work tirelessly to create a space where they can learn and play and be in community....and sometimes the "other stuff" just gets in the way.

And it, often, doesn't get solved quickly.

Which brings me to I love you......

I said to a much wiser coworker the other day..."The number of times I almost say 'I love you' to a kiddo is ridiculous." I'll say, "Have a great rest of your day!".....and then it almost slips out....

And he turned to me and smiled and said, "Why don't you just say it?"

Good question.

This same coworker......while we were bidding farewell to the littlest of our clients addressed a Kindergartner's question to both of us, "Is magic real?"

You know what he said? He bent down to the kindergarten boy and pointed to me and said, "You see that? You see that smile on her face? Can you see the magic in there?"

I can.

There's a little magic in real affection and care. I can't fill all the holes....but there is still a little magic in loving, despite the holes.

Have a great rest of your day, I love you.


-Have a great week!

Principal's Update- February 6, 2015

It's warming up outside! Woo hoo!
I apologize for how short this blog post is.  Lorri and I have been busy in the office- lots of "visitors" today! :)

In District Mail:
Any personal mail cannot be sent through inner-district mail.  Inner-district mail is for district mail only.  Thank you for your help with this!

STEM Night:
We had a great turnout for STEM Night.  A huge thanks to everyone who helped make this night happen.  We heard some amazing feedback from families!  Below are some pictures:

Carnival:
The PTO Carnival is Saturday from 2-5pm.  The PTO does a great job with this- if you are looking for something to do, stop by!

Classroom Teacher Sub-outs:
Classroom teachers will be subbed out on February 16, 17, and 18th.  Jayne will be sending the schedule out next week- watch for it.  During this time, your team will observe the grade below you and focus on four areas:  questioning (think time & balance of questioning), rigor, structure (teaching-vs-procedural), and engagement.  We will create some observable questions in those 4 areas.

During these days, teachers may stop in your room.  Don't be shocked- or afraid.  We are simply observing ways to connect the dots for our McKinley learners. 

Site Team Feedback:
Your Site Team rep will be getting some feedback from your team.  Please know that this feedback is valued and used for planning purposes. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!
Justin